Prairie alumroot
Heuchera richardsonii · Saxifragaceae
A neat rosette of scalloped, dark green leaves, with stiff, hairy stalks of small green flowers standing well above it in late spring.
- Size
- 12 in tall, 16 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves; flowers late May to late June
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Edging
A bed built around prairie alumroot
The planner designed this bed around prairie alumroot when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why prairie alumroot stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Prairie alumroot × 8, green leaves
- 2 Yellow ice plant × 4, yellow
- 3 Switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' × 8, purple
- 4 New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' × 3, pink
- 5 Eastern prickly pear × 1, yellow
- 6 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 7 Daffodil 'Ice Follies' × 7, white
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 12 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 41% of the edge.
- 8 plants in 2 runs (5 and 3). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
- Bold leaf against fine. Switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, into winter. They cover the 16 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 24 of the 24 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Prairie alumroot repeats along the bed to tie it together. Eastern prickly pear, prairie alumroot and yellow ice plant finish the front edge.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where prairie alumroot goes in a border
At 12 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: edging. A low, neat plant used in short runs of three or five along the front to finish the edge (or, in a formal bed, in one even row).
The one heuchera for full sun and prairie soil, hardy to zone 3. It edges a native bed tidily and its evergreen rosettes fill the ground between taller plants.
- Edging a prairie or meadow bed
- Sunny, dry sites
- Evergreen groundcover between taller natives
What to plant with prairie alumroot
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Prairie smoke: adds the flowers, late April to late May; fine leaves against its bold ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Prairie dropseed: adds the flowers, mid August to mid September; fine leaves against its bold ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Butterfly weed: adds the flowers, late June to early August; medium leaves against its bold ones; tall enough (24 in) to stand behind it.
Questions about prairie alumroot
Does prairie alumroot need sun or shade?
Prairie alumroot grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does prairie alumroot grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should prairie alumroot be planted?
14 in (35 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 16 in (40 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 12 in (30 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many prairie alumroot plants do I need?
At 14 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 9 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 9 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 28 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).
In the bed above, the planner used eight in two groups.
What does prairie alumroot look like in winter?
Prairie alumroot holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
More Heuchera
- American alumroot Heuchera americana
- Coral bells Heuchera
- Coral bells 'Berry Smoothie' Heuchera 'Berry Smoothie'
- Coral bells 'Caramel' Heuchera 'Caramel'
- Coral bells 'Citronelle' Heuchera 'Citronelle'
- Coral bells 'Firefly' Heuchera sanguinea 'Leuchtkäfer'
- Coral bells 'Georgia Peach' Heuchera 'Georgia Peach'
- Coral bells 'Green Spice' Heuchera americana 'Green Spice'
- Coral bells 'Lime Rickey' Heuchera 'Lime Rickey'
- Coral bells 'Obsidian' Heuchera 'Obsidian'
- Coral bells 'Palace Purple' Heuchera micrantha 'Palace Purple'
- Coral bells 'Plum Pudding' Heuchera 'Plum Pudding'
- Hairy alumroot 'Autumn Bride' Heuchera villosa 'Autumn Bride'
- Scarlet coral bells Heuchera sanguinea
In these guides
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 12 in (30 cm) tall, 16 in (40 cm) wide
- Plant
- 14 in (35 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; upright spires; green, cream
- Leaves
- Bold texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Saxifragaceae
Checked against VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.